M-G-M Double Bill

HOWARD THOMPSON

Published: May 20, 1965

EVEN two professions like Joanne Woodward and Stuart Whitman, working with their bare hands, can't steady "Signpost to Murder," a tedious and contrived suspense melodrama from England. A big, rumbling water mill, built smack in the middle of the main setting, a spacious country estate, steals the show. We'll bet it did, too, when the show originated—as is obvious by all the frenzied talk—on the stage.

But there's very little wrong with "Your Cheatin' Heart," the other half of yesterday's new M-G-M double bill at the Forum and other houses. There have been bigger, better and more expensive screen biographies of musicians, but few more honest and disarming recently than this unpretentious little drama about the hillbilly singer, the late Hank Williams, as portrayed by George Hamilton.

Stanford Whitmore, the scenarist, and director Gene Nelson deserve respect for depicting Mr. Williams's world of Southern "country" music with nary a false, hayseed note. In depicting the idolized singer's overalls-to-riches story and his tragic bouts with the bottle, the picture is quietly convincing every step of the way, and authentically flavored with a ripe quote of country tunes, mouthed by Mr. Hamilton.

This young actor, heretofore a rather vapid, sleek movie commodity, is perfectly cast as the homespun hero, sideburns and guitar. Red Buttons and Arthur O'Connell are fine as show business associates. And Susan Oliver, as the hero's wife, couldn't be more charming.

Conventional and sentimental, yes. But "Your Cheatin' Heart" also happens to be as earthbound, clean and genuine as a country shower. Nice work, folks. Hank would have been real proud.